Time blurred as I grew. Days became months, months became years, and suddenly I was five—a bundle of contradictions in a small oni body.
"Can't catch me!" I shrieked, darting between massive jungle trees. My feet squished delightfully in the mud, leaving tiny footprints behind. The humid air pressed against my skin, a constant warm embrace that felt like home.
"Watch me!" Kaoru bounded after me, deliberately slowing her pace. Her crimson skin gleamed with sweat, tattoos pulsing with each exaggerated stride.
I zigzagged around a massive fern, nearly colliding with Renji, who stood examining some strange plant. "Sorry!" I giggled, not sorry at all.
"Yuna," he sighed, adjusting his glasses. "Must you always—"
I was already gone, racing toward where Rika lounged against a tree, pretending not to watch our game.
"Tag!" I slapped her leg and darted away.
"Oh, you're dead meat now, squirt!" She launched after me, her longer legs eating up the distance between us.
I squealed with delight, ducking under Ayame who simply stepped aside with a serene smile. My mother's blue skin seemed to shimmer in the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy.
Something glittered in the undergrowth, catching my eye. I skidded to a halt, my attention completely diverted. There, crawling along a broad leaf, was a beetle with an iridescent shell that pulsed with soft blue light.
"Look!" I cupped it gently in my hands, turning back toward my family. "It's glowing like Mom's tattoos!"
They gathered around me, a perfect circle of protection and love.
"That's a moonshell beetle," Ayame explained, her voice soft with pride. "They only show themselves to those with calm hearts."
"Or to grabby little monsters," Rika teased, ruffling my hair.
Kaoru crouched beside me. "Race you to the tidepools?"
My eyes lit up. I carefully placed the beetle back on its leaf and took off running.
The day passed in a blur of splashing water, seashell hunts, and races along the shore. By sunset, we were all exhausted, sprawled around the fire pit outside our cliffside home. My skin was still damp, my hair wild with salt and wind.
I climbed into Kaoru's lap, nestling against her warmth. She wrapped her strong arms around me, humming contentedly. Across the fire, Ayame prepared tea while Renji read from one of his endless scrolls. Rika was sharpening her favorite dagger, occasionally making faces at me when our mothers weren't looking.
The question had been bouncing around my head all day. I'd seen other children in our village, heard them talk about their families. Something didn't add up.
"Why do I have this thingy if I'm a girl?" I asked suddenly, pointing downward.
Kaoru choked on her tea, sputtering and coughing. Ayame froze, teapot suspended mid-pour, her violet eyes widening.
I pushed on, undeterred. "And why do I have two moms but no dad like the others?"
The silence was deafening. Even the fire seemed to quiet down.
Rika snorted, trying to suppress her laughter. Renji suddenly found his scroll absolutely fascinating.
Kaoru and Ayame locked eyes across the fire, having one of those silent adult conversations. Ayame's eyebrow arched pointedly. Kaoru grimaced, shaking her head slightly. My blue-skinned mother narrowed her eyes in response.
Kaoru sighed dramatically. "Fine," she muttered, then looked down at me with a mixture of panic and determination.
"Well, uh..." Kaoru shifted me in her lap, her voice unusually high-pitched. "Sometimes... girls can be born with... a little extra." Her tattoos pulsed brighter with her discomfort.
Ayame set down her teapot with deliberate care and glided over to join us. "It's called being a futanari, sweetie. Or futa for short."
I blinked, looking between them. I remember the term from my past life I thought that's what I was but I wasn't sure.
"Futa," I repeated, testing the word. "And that's what I am?"
Kaoru nodded, visibly relieved I hadn't burst into tears. "Yes, my tiny ember. It's rare but completely natural among oni."
"Especially between clans," Ayame added, her cool fingers brushing my cheek. "You're a beautiful blend of both our bloodlines."
"Is that why I don't have a dad? Because I have two moms instead?"
They exchanged another look, this one softer.
"That's exactly right," Ayame said. "When two female oni love each other very much, sometimes their magic allows them to create a child together."
Kaoru wrapped her arms tighter around me. "That's how we had you. Our magic, our love—it made you possible."
You Yuna, you're born directly from our union."
Rika snorted again. "Union. That's one way to put it."
"Rika!" both my mothers snapped in unison.
Renji cleared his throat. "What they mean is that you're a physical manifestation of their combined essence." He pushed his glasses up his nose. "Quite rare, actually."
Kaoru rolled her eyes at his formal explanation. "You're a miracle, kid. Stronger than any label."
I absorbed this information, turning it over in my mind. The adult tension around the fire was palpable—they were all waiting for my reaction, watching me with concerned eyes.
I couldn't help it. I burst into giggles.
"You two are so bad at explaining stuff," I teased, pointing at my mothers' weird, squirmy expressions. "You look like you swallowed sea urchins!"
Kaoru's mouth fell open. "You little—"
"I already kinda knew I was different," I admitted, shrugging. "I just didn't know the word for it."
"You did?" Ayame asked, surprise evident in her normally composed features.
"Uh-huh. I've seen other kids when we go to the village." I hugged my own belly and smiled. "That just means I'm special, right?"
The tension around the fire dissolved into relieved laughter. Kaoru squeezed me so tight I squeaked.
"Special doesn't begin to cover it," she rumbled, pressing a kiss to my head.
Rika flopped down beside us. "Well, that was anticlimactic. I was all ready for the drama."
"Sorry to disappoint," I stuck my tongue out at her.
"You never could," she replied, flicking my forehead affectionately.
Later that night, as Ayame tucked me into bed, she studied me with those knowing violet eyes. "You took that very well, little one."
I yawned, already half-asleep. "Why wouldn't I? You and Mom love me. That's all that matters."
As I drifted off, I felt her cool lips press against my forehead, and her whispered words followed me into dreams: "Wiser than your years, my darling. Wiser than your years."
The night air wrapped around us like a blanket as I snuggled between my mothers on the wide balcony outside my bedroom. The stars above our jungle home seemed close enough to touch, like scattered diamonds against black velvet.
"You know what I think?" Kaoru suddenly announced, her voice rumbling through her chest where my ear rested.
"Hmm?" I mumbled sleepily.
Without warning, she scooped me up, her strong arms lifting me effortlessly. "I think this calls for a celebration!"
"Mom!" I shrieked as she tossed me into the air. My stomach dropped, then I was caught in her secure grip, my feet dangling.
"My brave girl!" She spun me around, her laughter booming across the night. The jungle canopy blurred around us, my hair whipping against my cheeks. Her tattoos pulsed with bright orange light, matching the joy in her eyes.
"Kaoru, you'll make her dizzy," Ayame chided, but her smile betrayed her amusement.
"Never!" I giggled, spreading my arms wide as Kaoru twirled faster.
"Join us, Mother!" I called to Ayame, reaching out one hand while clinging to Kaoru with the other.
Ayame's composed facade cracked. With unusual spontaneity, she rose and stepped into our spinning circle. Her cool arms wrapped around us both, creating a perfect balance to Kaoru's blazing warmth.
Kaoru stumbled dramatically, and we collapsed in a tangled heap on the balcony floor, breathless with laughter. I found myself sandwiched between them, surrounded by their contrasting energies—fire and ice, passion and calm.
Above us, the stars seemed to pulse in time with our breathing. A shooting star streaked across the sky, and I made a silent wish that this moment would never end.
Ayame's fingers gently combed through my hair. "You know, Yuna," she murmured, her voice like flowing water, "you're perfect exactly how you are."
I turned to look at her, catching the soft indigo glow of her tattoos reflecting in her eyes.
"And no matter what the world says," Kaoru added, propping herself up on one elbow to look down at me, "in this family—you're normal."
The word settled over me like a protective spell. Normal. Not strange or wrong or different. Just me. Just Yuna.
I nestled deeper between them, my small body fitting perfectly in the space they created. Their heartbeats—one quick and fierce, one steady and deep—formed a rhythm that lulled me toward sleep.
"I love you both," I whispered, my eyes growing heavy.
Their synchronized response followed me into dreams: "We love you more."